The fascinating and emerging field of quantum biology has the potential to uncover and produce new knowledge about natural phenomena and impact our relationship with technology. On the 21^st and 22^nd of November 2022, the Quantum Bio BR Summit gathered scientists, students and enthusiasts in Rio de Janeiro for a series of lectures on the subject.   

 The video recordings of the lectures presented in the event are available in this and in three other publications on the Pioneer Science website, starting with the introductory lecture by Johnjoe McFadden, molecular genetics professor at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) and author of works such as “Quantum Evolution”. In his lecture, the researcher gave an introductory panorama on how particles, chemical and physical phenomena are intertwined with living beings – from photosynthesis to the magnetic compass which guides birds during their seasonal migration.

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The next session of lectures highlighted potential evidences of quantum phenomena in biology. Professor Wendy Beane, director and founder of the Interdisciplinary Internship Exchange in Quantum Biology at the University of Michigan stated how several cellular phenomena involved in planarian regeneration can be influenced by manipulating the weak magnetic field manipulation of ROS signaling.

Jeanlex Sousa, physics professor and a member of the Seara da Ciência Consultative Council at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), brought studies on cellular viscoelasticity as a biological marker of the structure of the cytoskeleton and related diseases.

Mauricio Baptista, tenured professor and head of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of São Paulo (USP) and a board member of the American Society for Photobiology (ASP), described the actions involved between endogenous photosensitizers and the light/skin interactions.

Jerson Lima, professor at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Director of the National Center for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, exposed how biophysical studies and quantum biology are related to cancer development.

Simulation and quantum optimization with programmable Rydberg-atom arrays for real life applications was the theme which closed the second session, presented by Tommaso Macrí, master in theoretical physics by the University of Degli Studi di Padova and currently a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).

To know more about quantum biology’s necessary elements, click here and watch the videos of the lectures from the session which followed Quantum Bio BR Summit’s first afternoon. The event was held by the Pioneer Science Program in partnership with the University of California (UCLA) and the Instituto D’Or de Pesquisa e Ensino (IDOR).